In 1993 when the Wu-Tang Clan released their debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," the group emphatically put the New York scene back on the map in a big way, and helped to shepherd in East Coast Renaissance of hip-hop. The album enabled members of the group to put out solo albums, many of which were good, such as "Tical" from Method Man and "Iromman" from Ghostface Killah.
While releases from Ol Dirty Bastard and RZA were successful as well, the most influential and arguably most important album released from the group came from the one and only Raekwon.
His debut album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." was released in 1995 to great critical acclaim and is considered one of the most creative and inventive hip-hop albums out there. The album is structured in a cinematic style and features Wu-Tang members Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star," and producer RZA as the "director." Ghostface appears on numerous tracks throughout while RZA produced the entire album.
"Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." plays out in a beautifully cinematic way and details the types of things Raekwon and Ghostface Killah experienced in their lives in Staten Island, including tracks revolving around hustling, cocaine dealing, street life, and the Mafioso lifestyle. Another aspect of the album that elevates it above the rest is how Raekwon and Ghostface seamlessly incorporate Italian Mafia influences, nicknames and distinctive slang throughout the connected tracks on the album.
From top to bottom the lineup of tracks is fantastic, with highlights including "Criminology" and "Ice Cream," "Rainy Dayz" and the utterly distinctive "Wu-Gambinos,"
"Criminology" was the second single released of the album, but in my opinion was one of the best. Like many of the tracks, it features a sample from a film, this one being the '80s crime classic "Scarface." The dialogue fits in perfectly on the track, which features two illustrative and fierce verses from Raekwon and Ghostface and one of the smoothest beats on the album.
The second half of the track is strong as Raekwon spits: "But anyway, let's toast, champagne thoughts with Ghost/I max the most shotguns through the nose/Phonograph hip-hop put me on top/'Lo wears, and Tommy Hil fly shit with a knot /The witty unpredictable live shit, drive by shit/Do or die shit, I'll take your lie and shit /And then you know, I'm runnin through the penal, foul/Four-toothed child was wild/The old lady snitched, but fuck it, you know it, one love kid/No I'm not doin a bid."
"Rainy Dayz" is one of the more laid back tracks on the album, but what it lacks in explosiveness it makes up for in quality. RZA's production is at its sharpest on the track, with the beat having a haunting, creepy repetitive sound to it. Ghostface has some of his best lines on this track, but its Raekwon who steals the spotlight on the track.
The second verse is one if his best as he spits over the memorable beat: "What brings rain hail snow and earthquakes/The beat breaks, cause all my niggaz to break son / Styles is similar to criminals locked up/With gats, ghetto tabernacles is fucked up/I live once though, the mind stays infinite/Travel in the church, nine planets, in my midst/While I carry, to earn a decent salary/Soon get married, raise a family, but the plan'll be/real great, to sit up in the loft, count stacks and max/And real cats cold watch my back."
"Wu-Gambinos" is easily my favorite track on the album and is one of the most creative and original of the bunch. The track features numerous samples of dialogue from the John Woo film "The Killer" and features verses from Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, RZA and Method Man. The track prominently features the various nicknames and "la cosa nostra" Mafia influences mentioned earlier.
Raekwon's verse on the track is another example of the rapper's skills as a lyricist, showing of how illustrative he can be, as he raps: " This goes for niggaz who know/Wu will grow like llello, ley no/Plus coolin in Barbados/Ricaans be givin me much shit, the dutch shit/Stay cool papi, seize it with enough shit/Back at the lab a, crack's bagged up/Yo niggaz act up, what blow up the workers if they hafta/Senoritas, fuckin up a storm buyin guards margaritas/Suckin his dick, up in the whip long."
"Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." is an album which warrants numerous listens, allowing yout to fully soak in all the lyrical details, slang and intricacies that make it so inventive. Raekwon and crew form a sort of "Mafioso" family of their own, and RZA's production is second-to-none and helps create a completely connected atmosphere throughout the tracks on the album.
The lyrics are realistic and complex, the first person narratives detailed and ambitious. No matter what way you look at it, Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." is one of hip-hops all time best and most definitely a classic.
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